Innovation Brings New Life to Civil Service Reform in Georgia

Georgian public servants, civil society professionals and representatives of international organizations attended a two-day conference in Tbilisi to analyse the ongoing civil service reform in Georgia. The conference offered innovative Foresight Methodology recognized by one of the best tools in modelling policies and strategies.

The conference was organized by the ServiceLab (Innovative Service Laboratory) of the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), in cooperation with the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) of Georgia, and with assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Government of Sweden and Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“It is the second event arranged by ServiceLab to promote innovative thinking in Georgia’s public sector,” said Soso Giorgadze, Chairperson of the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), speaking at the opening of the conference on June 22. “This time we are focusing on civil service reform, one of the critical elements of the ongoing Public Administration Reform in the country. The Foresight Methodology allows us to think ahead, anticipate potential developments, analyse risks and respond to future eventualities”.

Through a series of brainstorming and simulations, the participants of the innovative conference discussed possible scenarios of the civil service reform in Georgia and model responses to potential risks. The conference was led by Nur Anisah Abdullah, Professor of Amity University Dubai and international expert in Foresight Methodology.

The conference coincided with the annual UN Public Service Day celebrated by the United Nations on June 23 to acknowledge the value and virtue of public service, highlight its contribution in the development process, recognize the work of public servants, and encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector. The 2017 theme of the Public Service Day is: The Future is Now - Accelerating Public Service Innovation for Agenda 2030.

“The ongoing reform is an important step towards building a strong, professional and impartial civil service in Georgia. Innovative approaches contribute to the reform process and benefit both public servants and citizens of Georgia,” said Natia Natsvlishvili, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative a.i. in Georgia.

Public administration reform is one of the priorities of the Four-Point Reform program developed by the Government of Georgia in 2016. UNDP is supporting the key areas of reform through the UK-funded GBP 4.5 million initiative that will continue until the close of 2020.